Late-night talk of three new bills in Parliament being proposed by home minister Amit Shah on the morrow (now 20 August, Wednesday) gave rise to considerable speculation — and some disgust — from the Opposition.
One among these is the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill — which, per a PTI report, looks to amend section 54 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 (34 of 2019) to include a provision for the removal of the chief minister or a minister arrested and detained in custody on account of serious criminal charges, since such a provision did not hitherto exist.
Is this, in fact, the sum total of the matter then? Or is this a red herring?
The other two Bills apparently to be tabled together with this are the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the Constitution (One Hundred And Thirtieth Amendment) Bill 2025 — which, respectively, are meant to update section 45 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 (20 of 1963) to allow for the removal of the chief minister or a minister arrested and detained in custody on account of serious criminal charges, and Articles 75, 164 and 239AA of the Constitution in order to create a 'legal framework' for the removal of the prime minister or any minister in the union council of ministers or a chief minister or a minister in the council of ministers of states and in the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in similar cases.
Why is it necessary to hold any minister guilty until proven innocent?Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra seemed to suspect there may be more to the 'reorganisation', given his post declaring that a discussion with the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, had led to the assurance that the party would accept nothing short of the restoration of "complete statehood" for the people of the now- union territory.
Held a crucial telephonic discussion with Sh. @RahulGandhi ji on the pressing J&K issue and the bill slated for tomorrow. Sh. Rahul Gandhi ji unequivocally assured J&K’s people that the Congress party will accept nothing short of complete statehood restoration. We stand resolute…
— Tariq Hameed Karra (@TariqKarra) August 19, 2025
And if indeed this is a matter 'merely' of removal of the chief minister and his cabinet for serious alleged misdemeanours — never mind 'innocent until proven guilty' — who will face the first charges and from which agency? Perhaps a central nodal one?
There is already the fairly draconian PMLA. The Prevention of Money-Laundering Act has already been levelled at enough Opposition politicians. Now, is toppling any state government of choice going to be facilitated by denial of bail for the 'accused' minister and his removal after 30 days languishing in jail?
Notably, this is also a direct challenge to the Supreme Court's 'bail before jail' doctrine.
Just a little while before the news broke, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah posted a striking 'Please I can't take anymore' meme on his personal handle on X.
How worried should Abdullah be in the immediate or short term?
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 19, 2025
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